Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada
Canada: Tonne-kilometers of air freight was 2.04 billion million ton-km in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
2.04 billion million ton-km
Change on year
down 34.3%
World rank
16th
of 180 countries
All-time high
3.24 billion million ton-km
in 2021
All-time low
370.90 million million ton-km
in 1970
Years of data
54
1970–2023
Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada, 1970–2023
Source: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in million ton-km.
Analysis
In 2023, tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada stood at 2.04 billion million ton-km.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 34.3% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada peaked at 3.24 billion million ton-km in 2021 and was at its lowest, 370.90 million million ton-km, in 1970.
Canada ranks 16th of 180 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada, year by year
| Year | million ton-km | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 370.90 million million ton-km | — |
| 1971 | 403.50 million million ton-km | +8.8% |
| 1972 | 433.40 million million ton-km | +7.4% |
| 1973 | 484.20 million million ton-km | +11.7% |
| 1974 | 520.30 million million ton-km | +7.5% |
| 1975 | 534.30 million million ton-km | +2.7% |
| 1976 | 567.70 million million ton-km | +6.3% |
| 1977 | 550.40 million million ton-km | -3.0% |
| 1978 | 608.60 million million ton-km | +10.6% |
| 1979 | 670.40 million million ton-km | +10.2% |
| 1980 | 688.60 million million ton-km | +2.7% |
| 1981 | 713.10 million million ton-km | +3.6% |
| 1982 | 746.60 million million ton-km | +4.7% |
| 1983 | 825.60 million million ton-km | +10.6% |
| 1984 | 967.20 million million ton-km | +17.2% |
| 1985 | 989.80 million million ton-km | +2.3% |
| 1986 | 977.00 million million ton-km | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 1.01 billion million ton-km | +3.1% |
| 1988 | 1.17 billion million ton-km | +16.3% |
| 1989 | 1.31 billion million ton-km | +12.0% |
| 1990 | 1.39 billion million ton-km | +5.6% |
| 1991 | 1.24 billion million ton-km | -10.4% |
| 1992 | 1.25 billion million ton-km | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 1.37 billion million ton-km | +9.6% |
| 1994 | 1.48 billion million ton-km | +8.0% |
| 1995 | 1.64 billion million ton-km | +10.7% |
| 1996 | 1.78 billion million ton-km | +8.8% |
| 1997 | 1.96 billion million ton-km | +9.9% |
| 1998 | 1.81 billion million ton-km | -7.7% |
| 1999 | 1.88 billion million ton-km | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 1.90 billion million ton-km | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 1.71 billion million ton-km | -9.8% |
| 2002 | 1.58 billion million ton-km | -7.7% |
| 2003 | 1.50 billion million ton-km | -5.2% |
| 2004 | 1.66 billion million ton-km | +10.7% |
| 2005 | 1.53 billion million ton-km | -7.8% |
| 2006 | 1.50 billion million ton-km | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 1.43 billion million ton-km | -4.9% |
| 2008 | 1.39 billion million ton-km | -2.9% |
| 2009 | 1.35 billion million ton-km | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 1.96 billion million ton-km | +45.3% |
| 2011 | 1.98 billion million ton-km | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 1.96 billion million ton-km | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 1.95 billion million ton-km | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 2.08 billion million ton-km | +7.1% |
| 2015 | 2.07 billion million ton-km | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 2.25 billion million ton-km | +8.3% |
| 2017 | 2.84 billion million ton-km | +26.5% |
| 2018 | 2.48 billion million ton-km | -12.6% |
| 2019 | 3.11 billion million ton-km | +25.3% |
| 2020 | 2.31 billion million ton-km | -25.8% |
| 2021 | 3.24 billion million ton-km | +40.5% |
| 2022 | 3.10 billion million ton-km | -4.4% |
| 2023 | 2.04 billion million ton-km | -34.3% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 2.04 billion million ton-km is above the median for high income countries, which is 266.33 million million ton-km, 7.6× the median. (62 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 514.37 million million ton-km | 370.90 million million ton-km | 670.40 million million ton-km | 10 |
| 1980s | 939.66 million million ton-km | 688.60 million million ton-km | 1.31 billion million ton-km | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.58 billion million ton-km | 1.24 billion million ton-km | 1.96 billion million ton-km | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.55 billion million ton-km | 1.35 billion million ton-km | 1.90 billion million ton-km | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.27 billion million ton-km | 1.95 billion million ton-km | 3.11 billion million ton-km | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.67 billion million ton-km | 2.04 billion million ton-km | 3.24 billion million ton-km | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More reference data data for Canada
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 20.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 20.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 6.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 7.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 22.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 99.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 15.88 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada?
- Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada was 2.04 billion million ton-km in 2023, according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest tonne-kilometers of air freight recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 3.24 billion million ton-km in 2021.
- What is the lowest tonne-kilometers of air freight recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 370.90 million million ton-km in 1970.
- How does Canada rank for tonne-kilometers of air freight?
- Canada ranks 16th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tonne-kilometers of air freight rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Tonne-kilometers of air freight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Air freight is the volume of freight, express, and diplomatic bags carried on each flight stage (operation of an aircraft from takeoff to its next landing), measured in metric tonnes times kilometers traveled.